


Neon Youth

by ultimatebara



Series: How to be a Human Being [1]
Category: The Song of Achilles - Madeline Miller
Genre: Agamemnon not so much, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Hector is a good guy, M/M, Model!Achilles, Social Media
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-05
Updated: 2018-01-05
Packaged: 2019-02-28 12:01:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,136
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13271034
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ultimatebara/pseuds/ultimatebara
Summary: The sun begun to rise as the water shone bright. The waves broke calmly against the pier and Achilles closed his eyes, smelling the salt on the wind. He remebered playing with frogs on a pond when he was a child and the times his mother's took him to swim. She would hold him close to her chest, in the middle of the ocean, and whisper."Achilles, you are clearly meant for so much more."Then, she would submerge both of them to be embraced by the cold waters.





	Neon Youth

**Author's Note:**

> Finally my patrochilles work is up!  
> 2018 is all about not procrastinating and getting things done!  
> This is not proofread im really sorry  
> I hope you guys like this series!
> 
> The title Neon Youth is because I based this work on the feeling the song Youth by Glass Animals makes me feel and there is a lot of neon light on the video clip and I love neon sooooo

 

_You were clearly meant for more / Than a life lost in the war / I want you to be happy / Free to run, get dizzy on caffeine / Funny friends that make you laugh / And maybe you're just a little bit dappy_

The salt started to prickle his skin as the hot sun began to appear on the horizon. The sea waves were the only sound he could hear, sliding over the sand to reach his toes, leaving the soothing cold feeling on them.

His lips were cold just as much as his fingertips, from swimming exhaustively during that cold night. He shrived and the wind moved his golden locks to his eyes, but he didn’t move them away.

As the pink and orange mixed between the clouds, dissipating on the soft blue sky, Achilles felt his eyes water. The way the sun shone against the ocean brought tears to his eyes.

 

//

 

He ate breakfast with his mother, dry tomatoes with cheese on toasts, accompanied by orange with lemon juice.

She talked about what they were going to do that day, the interviews, the photoshoots and whom they would meet.

“You look pale, Achilles. You need to sunbathe more, son.” Her slim fingers touched a misplaced strand of hair and she put it back behind his ear as he took a sip of the juice.

“I think I’ll go to the beach this week, if I have the time.”

Thetis nodded and gave him a small smile, offering more for him to eat.

 

Inside the car, they would repass his entire schedule while Thetis tried to split her attention between her son and the multiple emails she was receiving.

Achilles sat beside her, looking at his own phone and reading his own calendar. Menelaus had sent him a text, asking if he would like to go out with him and some friends, making the blonde sigh.

He didn’t mind the company of Menelaus, but he couldn’t stand his brother, Agamemnon. A man with nothing but rotten intentions inside him.

Achilles glanced at his mother and the way she typed frenetically on her phone. He decided on answering as quickly as possible so he could not have the opportunity to change his mind.

 

The brunch was on a high-end coffee shop downtown. The smell of ground beans was one of Achilles favorite smells. A strongly sweet thing that filled his lungs and made him think that, maybe, there were good things in life in which he could truly enjoy.

The man sitting in front of him was eccentric. White hair combed to the right side, thick black glasses and a well-cut navy suit with a black turtleneck under it. Achilles listened to him talking about past fashion shows he had took part and the upcoming ones that Achilles would probably participate.

The sour coffee taste filled his mouth as the man – what was he name again? Achilles wasn’t paying too much attention – pulled a folder and opened it on the table, showing photos of beautiful intricate patterns and samples of the fabrics.

“Whose collection is this?” Achilles asked after seeing his mother turn to a page on which a beautiful swan embroidered on a tunic’s back.

“It’s…” he cleared his throat “It’s Poseidon’s.” the atmosphere became heavy and Thetis immediately retreated her hand from the folder.

Achilles put his mug on the beautiful red coaster, adjusting his jacket and motioned to get up. Thetis followed suit, closing her bag.

“Where you’re going?”

Thetis put her hair behind her ear and turned around, looking at the man with cold eyes and a sour mouth.

“We don’t work with rapists.”

“I-if you’re talking about that girl- that- there’s no proof Poseidon did a-“

Thetis reached for the steaming hot kettle and poured the water over the man’s lap, seeing him shriek and get up trembling, tears forming in his eyes. The shop staff came running and stopped a few meters away, looking in horror alongside other costumers, some recording with their cellphones.

“Her name is Medusa.” She then proceeded to pour the rest of the water over the folder, ruining the fabrics and sketches.

Achilles followed his mother outside and they entered the car that waited them. He yawned and looked at Thetis, seeing her distressingly type away on her phone.

“The nerve of some people.” She whispered and put her arm against the door, starting to talk with someone on the phone. Achilles leaned over the driver’s sit and tapped the chauffeur’s shoulder.

“Starbuck’s drive-thru and then Burger King.”

 

//

 

“I can’t fucking believe your mom did that!” Menelaus exclaimed and laughed, drinking more of his beer.

After lunch, the video was all over the internet. The retweets, shared links and reposts flooded the net along comments praising or condemning Thetis’ behavior. While on his photoshoot, Achilles heard people murmuring about the video, saw them looking at Thetis with admiration or mixed feelings.

“Yeah. We don’t stand rapists.” He leaned on the wall beside him and Menelaus sat on the pavement, lightning a cigarette.

Achilles was surprised to see that Agamemnon wasn’t there with his brother. He could almost say he was happy for not being forced to listen to him talk shit about his girlfriend or any other living thing.

They decided on drink over Odysseus’ house and bought beverages on the way.

The chilly night made their noses turn pink as they drank beer on the way and talked about anything. Menelaus were honest with his words and Achilles appreciated the way they could talk openly about whatever they wanted.

“And, like, I know Helen is the woman of my dreams but she just… She’s slipping and…” he moved his fingers in front of his body and whimpered, “I don’t think she’ll stay with me. She’s so beautiful.” He sighed and rubbed his left eye with the heel of his hand.

Achilles chuckled and drank more of his can, not knowing how to offer the emotional support the other seemed to need. Menelaus looked at Achilles and pointed a finger gun at him.

“What about you, man? We never see you with anyone.”

“I _did_ go out with Deidamia.” He stated and Menelaus shook his head.

“Yeah, but, like, for a week at best! By the way, we still have the photos of you dressed as a belly-dancer. Agamemnon almost hit on you.” He chuckled.

Achilles made a sour face and drank more. He was glad the comment of Agamemnon made Menelaus forget about the topic as they approached Odysseus’ house.

The blonde tilted his head to the side and looked at the house and then to Menelaus, frowning and pointing at the building. There people outside talking and drinking, colored lights coming from the inside and the music was _loud_.

“Oh, yeah. I didn’t tell you it was a party or you wouldn’t come.” He laughed and Achilles groaned.

“You know I don’t like parties, Menelaus. They’re always awful.” He put a golden lock behind his ear “Something bad always happen and you know it.”

“Dude! Nothing bad will happen! Look” he threw his empty can on the sidewalk, holding Achilles with an arm, “We go inside, dance a bit, drink a lot and go home! You can stay on your phone if you want. Odysseus has the same phone as you so you can borrow his charger and everyone wins!” he finished with a big smile.

Achilles looked at his friend and scrunched his nose, sighing deeply and nodded.

“Ok. Just a bit.”

Menelaus shook the other with excitement and climbed the stairs with Achilles following him.

 

The inside was boiling with people, the music pounded his ears and the colored lights helped his vision get blurry faster. He went to the kitchen and opened another can of beer, taking a gulp and sighed, propping his elbow on the counter. Odysseus were nowhere to be seen and Menelaus had already disappeared.

He fished his phone from his pocket and began to check his social media, seeing that many of his friends were at the same party. He sighed, resting the cold can against his temple and someone bumped into him.

“Oh, gods! Sor- Achilles!” a feminine voice called him and he blinked twice, trying to remember the name of the girl in front of him. He gave her a small smiled “I didn’t know you would come!”

“Clytemnestra.” He whispered, chuckling. Her name was hard, but he remembered the cute moles she had under her beautiful green eyes “Neither did I.”

She laughed and passed her hair to behind her ears, wiping the sweat on her forehead.

“You’re not going to dance?” she asked, going to the fridge and filled her cup with water, drinking in a single gulp.

“I don’t really like dancing. I just came to drink.” He shrugged and she walked to her, grabbing the bottle on the counter and poured the beverage there. He frowned and looked at her face “Where is Agamemnon, by the way? I thought he was your shadow.”

She rolled her eyes and sipped on the drink. When she spoke, Achilles looked at the bottle on the counter. Vodka.

“We broke up. I want him far away from me.” She said slowly and the blonde nodded “Fucking prick. Can you believe he sides with Poseidon in the Medusa case?! Disgusting!” she spat “Not to say he was getting aggressive with me. More than normal and I was like ‘no, Clytemnestra, you don’t deserve a man like him’ and Penelope told me to chop his dick off, but I don’t want to go to jail because of an asshole like him.” She explained and Achilles nodded, almost choking on his beer.

He chuckled and passed his fingers on his hair, messing it up a bit. He was feeling light and his cheeks were warm as he listened to the girl. He smiled and she smiled back, touching his shoulder.

“Let’s dance, Achilles!” she whined, “You need to loosen up. Give me your phone! Let’s make some memories!” he didn’t even noticed when his phone went missing from his hand.

Clytemnestra opened the Instagram app and started recording.

“Hi, Achilles’ fans! This is Clytemnestra!” she giggled and a few white hearts begin to appear on the corner as people entered the live “Oh, my gods. Achilles you have so many fans! _Hi from Italy, from France, from Brazil, from Canada_!” she laughed more and Achilles just let her enjoy herself, not caring about her hold on the phone “Now! Here!” she began recording him “Say hi to your fans, golden locks!”

He waved and tried to look presentable by adjusting his jacket and combing his hair with his free hand.

“Be amiable, Achilles! Say something!” she encouraged and he looked around, trying to think about something to say.

“Uh… We’re at Odysseus’ house and there’s booze an-” he stopped talking, looking at somewhere behind Clytemnestra. The girl frowned and the comments on the live bounced between _turn around!_ to _WHAT IS HAPPENING_

The brunette turned around with the camera as a young man walked into the kitchen looking at his phone. He walked to the counter and put the phone on it, still reading whatever was there and filled a cup with whatever drink; no one was actually paying attention.

Achilles’ eyes followed the man, watching him pour the drink. Clytemnestra kept recording as the comments flooded with question marks and more white hearts.

The man had a dark complexion, brown curls and an undercut. His black crop top showed his pudgy midriff and his boxer’s waistband. He looked up, seeing the two of them looking at him and noticed the phone.

“Oh! I-I didn’t know you guys were recording, I’m so sorry!” he giggled, showing how he was tipsy and grabbed his cup and phone, walking back to the dance floor. Achilles blinked and looked at Clytemnestra, who was still recording.

“I’ve never seen someone so beautiful.” He whispered and she screeched, ending the live.

He walked to the kitchen door and looked around, trying to find the man, to no avail. Clytemnestra walked to him and put his phone back in his pocket, touching his shoulder.

“You just… I thought you were straight?” she questioned and Achilles looked at her with confusion.

“I can find men beautiful and be straight!” he exclaimed and she rolled her eyes.

“Yeah, but- Ah, whatever.” She made a dismissive move with her hand “I’m gonna dance. Need to find Penelope. Penelope! It’s ya girl, Clyt!” she screamed and Achilles widened his eyes.

“You can’t yell shit like that!” he laughed and put a hand on his stomach, looking at her shrug and infiltrate between the dancing bodies.

Achilles leaned on the kitchen’s door and kept looking around. The song changed and a well-paced rhythm began. And he spotted the stranger from before, talking with a girl with an orange scarf on her head. They were laughing and she held a phone, taking a pic of them, but they didn’t seem satisfied with it. Achilles bit his lip and didn’t even think, walking to them.

“Want me to snap it?” he offered and the girl seemed taken aback, but nodded. She hugged the other’s waist and made a peace sign while the brunette put his tongue out, winking at the camera. Achilles took the pictured and handed her the phone, seeing the smiles bloom in their faces.

“Thanks!”

“Yeah, no pro…” he found himself in an impasse. What now?

“I’m so sorry for messing up your recording!” the other began and Achilles felt his heart beat faster.

“No, no! It’s okay! We weren’t… Doing anything special or what.” He explained, not knowing what to do with his hands “Clytemnestra was doing a live or whatever and… Don’t worry.”

The other chuckled and bit the side of his cup, looking at Achilles. The blonde felt his throat dry and his chest light. He pointed to the dance floor and felt the taste of beer on his tongue.

“Do you wanna dance or…? I mean, I’m not good at it, but if you want to, we could.” He tried and the other raised an eyebrow. The girl beside him opened a big smile and chuckled, turning around and walked to somewhere else. Achilles felt embarrassed and looked to anywhere but the guy in front of him.

“If you don’t want to, we can stay here.” He offered and the blonde nodded, scratching his own nape. They stayed in silence for a while, listening to people yelling and the beat of the song.

Achilles wished he wasn’t so social awkward when drunk. He would babble and feel like his body was too much for all the space around him.

“What’s your name?” the other’s voice brought him back to reality “Mine’s Patroclus.” He offered with a smile and Achilles was blinded.

“I…” he swallowed his own saliva. He considered himself a well-known model, the higher-grossing earner under the age of 25 and the other didn’t know who he was. Achilles didn’t know if it was good or bad “Achilles.”

Patroclus raised his eyebrows.

“I like your name.” he bit the border of the cup again and Achilles found himself staring at those thick lips. Patroclus chuckled “Do I know you from somewhere? You look familiar.”

Because of the light, Achilles couldn’t see if the other was blushing, but he himself was.

“I’m… I’m a model.” He began and Patroclus raised his eyebrows.

“That’s awesome! Do you model for what specifically? Do you mind if I google you right now?” he chuckled and Achilles shook his head, crossing his arms embarrassed.

“I model for clothes in general. I don’t like to do the underwear shots, though.”

Patroclus listened and stepped closer to Achilles, pulling his own phone and googling. He giggled, tilting his head to the side and took another sip of his drink. The alcohol smell hit Achilles’ nose.

“You look awesome in all these photos.” Patroclus commented while browsing “Is it cool to be a model?” he looked at Achilles and the blonde tilted his head to the sides.

“Well… You get to know a lot of different places and eat some fancy food. I once went to Italy and saw a lot of amazing dogs.” He said and Patroclus laughed, putting his wrist against his mouth. The song muffled his laughter, but Achilles was able to get the deliciousness of it “What? Dogs are cool.”

“I agree!” he nodded and put his phone away “I think I’ll become a model so I can see some foreign dogs.”

Achilles chuckled and changed his weight from a foot to another. Getting to know someone was hard, but when he was drunk it was even harder. His head was beginning to feel light even though he drank so little.

“Achilles!”

Both boys looked at the source of screaming and Hector waved at them, smiling without his shirt and dripping hair. The black locks stuck to his forehead and his brown eyes locked on the blonde, making Achilles groan internally.

“I didn’t know you would come!” he put his hands on his waist and smiled widely.

“Yeah- why are you even wet, Hector?” he looked up, being that Hector was a few inches taller than him.

“Apollo threw me on the pool for funsies.” He glanced at Patroclus and tilted his head, smiling wickedly “Hey, you’re the guy from the bookstore! He’s the best, Achilles. Know so many books by heart, it’s weird.” He laughed and Achilles looked at the brunette.

“My family owns a small bookstore. Everything I have to do is read.” He giggled and Achilles’ heart jumped.

“And now that you’re here, you’re going to swim.” Hector exclaimed and laughed, walking to Patroclus and caught him on his arms, holding him bridal style.

“What?! No! Hector!” he tried to free himself, to no avail. Some people started to cheer as Hector marched with Patroclus to the pool area and Achilles followed them. Patroclus extended his arm, holding his phone “Hold it for me! Hold it!” Achilles grabbed it at the same time Hector ran with Patroclus and jumped again on the pool.

Achilles stopped near the pool and noted the orange scarf girl on the other side, looking concerned at the water. Hector rose and Patroclus clanged to him for dear life, receiving a kiss on the cheek, making him laugh.

“Pat! Are you okay?” the girl kneeled by the pool and Patroclus turned his head, nodding, but coughed a little.

“Some water in my nose, but I’m fine! I ruined your shirt, Bri!” he exclaimed and giggled as Hector took him closer to the girl.

“It’s okay. It’s okay.” She smiled and both, Hector and Briseis, helped Patroclus out of the pool “I’ve never been held by such a strong man in my life.” He looked at Hector and laughed, receiving a wink in return.

“Oh, Pat, let’s go home, yeah. You need to change or you’ll get a cold.”

Achilles walked to the other side of the pool and kneeled by their side, holding the brunette’s hand by whim. His cheeks were warm and his heart was pounding. Under the normal light of the pool area, he saw how beautiful Patroclus’ eyes were. Wide with long lashes and a golden brown.

The last hours had a lot to do with him acting without thinking, so he thought on adding some more.

“Please, give me your number.”

Patroclus blinked a few times, looking at Achilles and chuckled. Briseis felt the need to walk away from them, but she was helping Patroclus get up, so she had to witness their embarrassing exchange.

“Sure.” He answered in a smooth, dazed voice. The alcohol was all the way up there now and Briseis knew he would become a giggling mess in no time.

Achilles handed him his phone and received a look from the girl. His mind was hazy, so he didn’t what was that look, but he knew it meant something important for she looked close to Patroclus.

“Here, Achilles. I put a doggy next to my name so you can know it’s me.” He smiled and got up with Briseis. Achilles’ heart swelled at the rolled speech and the softness of his words. They waved goodbye and Achilles put a hand on his face, wanting to scream.

He just asked a boy for his number, in a kind of desperate way. He looked up, seeing the moon and the clear night sky. He was ready to have an internal conflict, but someone tapped him on the shoulder. He looked down and saw Odysseus for the first time that night, even if the party was at his house.

“Hey, Achilles, could you lend me your phone for a sec?”

Achilles handed him the phone.

“Do you need to ask for more booze?” Odysseus shook his head.

“I don’t want you to have to buy a new phone.” He shrugged and Achilles frowned, confused.

“Wha-”

Suddenly, someone pushed him from behind as everyone cheered and he found himself at the bottom of the pool. The stillness and the silence were not strangers to him, but the lack of air was. He emerged and coughed water whilst his hair was all over his face and his clothes were soaking wet.

In the middle of laughs and loud music, he found himself at peace. Later he could say it was the beer or the giddiness of getting Patroclus’ number, but at that moment, he felt genuine happiness overflow his entire body. He started to laugh and wiped his hair back, seeing Ajax with his hand extended to help him get out of the pool.

He reached for the hand and smiled devilishly; pulling Ajax with all the strength he had and laughed with the others, throwing water at the others in the pool.

Odysseus jumped after and reassured Achilles his phone was safe in Penelope’s purse and invited him to a chicken fight against Cassandra and Hyacinth.

He almost drowned for laughing when the other team destroyed them.

 

//

 

He sat on Odysseus’ window as Penelope walked around the room while brushing her teeth. She didn’t drink much, so she was functioning enough to take care of her hygiene before going to sleep. The night was coming to an end and Odysseus was downstairs, turning the sound and the lights off whilst some of their friends helped cleaning the kitchen.

“You’re okay there, babe?” Penelope came behind Achilles and touched his shoulder, smiling. Her beautiful brown eyes, reaching for her ears, smiled at him at the same time her mouth did and Achilles caught a glimpse of her smile piercing.

“Yeah, yeah. I just… Really like the breeze.” He chuckled and she nodded “Thanks for the clothes, by the way.” He motioned to the black sweater and jeans Odysseus lent him.

“No worries, love. Do you want me to call you a cab?”

Achilles looked outside and saw how the horizon began to get lighter.

“Nah. I think I’ll walk. I'll pass by later to get my clothes and give these back.” He got up and Penelope nodded again, walking to her purse and getting his cellphone for him.

He helped take some of the trash out and said his goodbyes. On the way home, he checked his phone and saw a few missed calls from his mother. She knew he was out with his friends – he didn’t felt weird by calling them friends now – and just sent her a text saying he was going home and apologizing for not answering. There were a lot of notifications from his social media and some other texts, but he decided it was something to deal later, when he wasn’t feeling sleepy and tired of laughing.

He stopped by the shore, standing on the pier and looked at the horizon. It was a good fifteen minutes walk to his house, because of the detour he took to get there, but he didn’t mind.

The sun begun to rise as the water shone bright. The waves broke calmly against the pier and Achilles closed his eyes, smelling the salt on the wind.

He remembered of his coffee that morning and his lips trembled. How could he not crush on someone who reminded him of coffee? Sweet and hot. His tongue felt heavy and he giggled, putting a hand over his eyes.

He admitted to himself he was crushing on a guy he had just met. And got his number! His chest was warm with so much!

Achilles opened his eyes and saw the orange flood the blue sky as the wind messed more his hair, throwing the golden locks over his eyes, but he didn’t push them away.

Achilles, in that moment, felt pure joy.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Achilles just got up close to the word bissexuality and liked it a lot  
> I hope you guys liked the first work of this series! It will have one more part, but I'm still thinking if I'll add a third one!  
> Thanks for reading!


End file.
